Belt buckle



Jan. 4 1927. v 1,613,444

F.P.DAUGHADAY BELT BUCKLE VFiled April 24, 1926 Patented Jan. 4, 1922.7.

retain if F ice.

FRANK r. DAUGHADAY, or noR'roN, raassnei-rnsnrrs.

BELT' BUCKLE. l

Application filed April 24, 1926. Serial No. 104,333.

This invention relates to belt buckles and is intended to provide aconstruction for an ornamental front which will permitV the use of anornamenal front or escutcheon plate of thin precious metal mechanicallyattached to a buckle body of stronger and more durable material in asimple, inexpensive and reliable manner, and further to permit the useoi' a panel of ornamental material, such as pearl, onyx, Celluloid orthe like, which is positioned `and held in place by means of theescutcheon plate itself.

Heretofore when using ornamental panels of pearl or other like materialit has been the practice to attach such panel by filling a counter-sunkoriiice, bored inthe back tace ot the panel, with soft metal andsoldering that to the metallic buckle body. It it were desired tofurther ornament the panel by superimposing ornamental strips or stripesof precious metal the front tace otl the pearl was grooved or channeledslightly, the grooves terminating in notches inthe edges of the panel,and narrow strips of gold or silver were inserted in suchchannel, theirend portions being bent into said notches and folded back against therear face of the panel so as to lock them in place. This method is notonly very expensive, but it permits the use only of straight line stripsor bands since the channels themselves are cut by means of a smallgrinder.

The present invention overcomes theseobjections by providing anescutcheon plate which may enter into the ornamentation of the bucklebodyto any desired extent to present any desired pattern, and at thesame time serves as a simple and effective means lor anchoring orsecuring a panel of ornamental material to the buckle body, whileexposing any desired portions of the panel in any desired pattern toview.

In general the invention comprises "a buckle body-or plate combined withan escutcheon plate, the front of the buckle body being depressedbetween its side edges -to leave shallow lateral ledges between whichthe escutcheon plate is inserted, the 4escutcheon plate having itsopposite end edges inturned and folded around the corresponding endedges ot' the body to interlock these two parts together in a convenientand expeditious mannen'the escutcheon plate being` held againstlavteraldisplacement by lateral shoulders or ledges of the buckle body. Thisconstruction permits the use of ornamental sheets or lpanels ot' anydesired material of any desired thickness which may be held firmlyinterposed between the outer escutcheon plate and the underneath bucklebody, as will be hereinafter explained.

Tn the accompanying 'drawings I have illustrated somev buckleconstructions embodying the principles of this invention, in which:

`Figure l is a plan view of a bucklevbody exposing an inset-pearlpanel-with a curvilinear over-stripe or band. f 4

Figure 2 is a plan view ofthe' buckle bodv construction formedto-receive the pearl panel. v

Figure 3 is a central cross section 'of the buckle construction ofFigure l. j

Figure 4 is a side elevationot the same V,with the belt-attachingclamping lever `applied thereto.

Figure 5 is a cross section at right angles i to the section of Figure3.

Figure 6 is a transverse section showing a moditied construction forpanel.

Figure 7 is a front view showing the cut-out pattern in the escutcheoiiplate with an underneath sheet of celluloid or the like.

FigureS is a longitudinal section of the form of buckle shown in Figure7.

rThe type of buckle to which the invention is shown applied in theaccompanying receiving lthe drawings is what is known asthe lever Ytypeof lbuckle whse `body member embraces a front portion or member Landside flanges Qwhich are sometimeslfiu'ther bent inwardly, as shown atQa,to make a guard for the belt passing through. The side flanges arepierced with openings to carry bearing pins or pintles 3 on which ismounted the clamping bail lever e, through which the anchored end oilthe belt or strap is looped, while the tree or tongue end the belt ispinched against the iront by the clamping arm Aof the lever, accordingto well known practice.

Such buckles readily lend themselves to various'styles or ornamentationand there is a decided advantage in having the body of the bucklemade otdurable alloys strong enough to resist the strains and wear vto whichthe body is subjected, while `provid- *ing such body with an ornamentalfront of precious metalv securely attached to the buckle body in asightly and convenient manner so-that, at aminimum lexpense for materialand labor, 'a strong and durable buckle,

having the finished appearance of a gold or silverbuekle, may beproduced.

In the present instance the greater por tion of the front member of thebuckle body is depressed slightly below the side edge portions to leaveslightly projecting shoulders or ledges la, these side portions alsobeing projected slightly beyond the two end edges ot the iront, as shownat lb, to form additional shoulders. rlhe central area of the iront,when intended for the reception oi' a relatively thick panel of pearl orthe like, is further depressed, as shown at le, to form a shallow matrixfor the reception ol' a pearl liront or panel 5, which is dinienw sionedto iit inside 'this 'recess when laid therein.

The pearl panel is held in place by means ofan escutcheon plate 4l;which may be ot' any desired pattern or ornamental appearance,preferablyv made of thin precious metal, and dimensioned so that it willlie between the two side ledges la and, by its engagement therewith, beprevented from lateral or transverse movement. The opposite end edgeportions of the escutcheon plate 4 are formed into end flanges Lla whichare bent around theopposite end edges or' the front member of the bodyand crimped inwardly behind the body, Vas shown in Figf ure 5. This thinmetal can be very easily crimped'in this fashion to form an interlockingconnection or vengagement with the end edges of the fronti member, theescutcheon plate being held against lateral displacement by theshoulders 1fL and l which, for appearance sake7 lie substantially liushwiththe outer tace oi' the escutcheon plate andserve also to protect itsedges against catching upon or engaging external objects. It it isdesired togive a banded appearance to the pearl inlaid panel theescutcheon plate l may be stamped out to leave any desired arrangementor form of bands, one of which is illustrated at 4b as an arcuate orcurved band integral with the escutcheon plate, and requiring no cuttingor grinding ofthe pearl panel itself to produce the desired effect.

Instead of forming a panel-receiving re cess in the front member oli'the buckle body, as above described, the whole interior portion of thefront member l, or' the buckle body, between the two side ledges l, maybe llat or level, that is, the depression 1 may be omitted and amodified form of esn cutcheon plate 6, having an interior raised flange6a, overlapping the edges of the panel, may be used, as shown in Figure6. In short, the recess or bed for the panel may be formed either in theouter escutcheon plate vor in the body front which forms the back,behind the panel. ln casev an ornamental plate oli thin sheet material7, like celluloid, is used the llat or unrecessed front member l, asshown in Figure 7, will aliord a level backing for such sheet materialand the escutcheon plate 4l, with its inturned or interlocking flangeslla, will cover and coniine the interposed thin sheetof material, theplate itself, before stated, being cut out in any desired pattern toexpose the Celluloid backing. Mechanically the construction of bucklebody and escutcheon plate will be the same, whether a Celluloid backingbe interposed or not. For ornamental purposes, however, where no backingor panel is used, the ornamentation may be embossed directly on theescutcheon plate instead ot punching out portions of the plate to exposean interposed backing element or member..

ln practice the escutcheon plate is Yformed with its attaching orinterlocking langes projecting at nearly right angles to the body of theplate. The panel or sheet ot ornamental material Visplaced upon thevfront member of the body, the escutcheon plate is placed over it withits end flanges engaging the opposite end edges'o' the body l'ront ofthe buckle and the edge portions of the lianges are then `rolled orpressed down against the back tace ot the body forming, as shown inFigures 5 and 8, a complete and eectve interlocking attachmentpresenting,

at the same time, a finished edge to the end edges of the buckle.

With this construction it is possible to bend up one ol' the inturnedlocking flanges 49, remove the escutcheon plate and either replace itwith another plate of dierent design or substitute a panel of dierentappearance for the ornamental background. By this construction also thetrouble and expense of cutting grooves in the ace of the pearl inlay andof counter-boring the back to permit it to be soldered to the bucklebody is avoided.

l/Vhat I claim is:

l. In a belt buckle, the combination with a body element comprisingiront and side members, the front being depressed to leave raisedlateral edges, a panel of ornamental material laid upon the front, anescutcheon plate whose side et .limensioned to lie between said lodges,said escutcheon plate having its end edges folded around the end edgesVof the front member oi the buckle body t0 interlock therewith, the bodyfront and the escutcheon forming inner and outer panel-supporting andretaining means engaging the back and front faces of the interposedpanel.

2. In a belt buckle, the combination with a buckle body embracing a rontmember formed with opposite slightly raised side ledges extending fromend to end of the buckle, an escutcheon member dimensioned to'liebetween said ledgesand having its ends infolded around the respectiveend edges of the body front member to interlock the parts together, oneof said members having its interior portion formed with a shallowrecess7 a panel or ornamental material seated in said recess andconfined therein by the engagement of said memberswith its front andback faces respectively. c

3. A belt buckle body whose front is formed with raised side ledges andwhose interior portion is depressed to form a shallow panel-receivingrecess, a panel of ornamental material .seated in said recess, an outerescutcheon plate having its interior portion cut out to expose saidpanel partly to View, said escutcheon plate being dimensioned to liebetween the aforesaid side ledges and having its end edges interlockedwith the end edges of the body front.

4. In a belt buckle, the combination with a buckle body front formedwith raised side ledges, a-nescutcheon plate dimensioned to lie betweensaid side ledges and having end flanges covering and detachablyinterlocking with the end edges of the body front, the interior portionof said escutcheon plate being out out in any desiredform, and aremovable panel of ornamental material nterposed and conined between thebody front and the escutcheon plate to form an ornamental replaceablebacking behind the cut out portions of the escutcheon plate.

In witness whereof, I have subscribed the above specification.

FRANK P. DAUGHADAY.

